Yogyakarta: Java's ancient city of culture

Think of Java, and chances are that the megacity of Jakarta – the capital of Indonesia – will spring to mind. But for those interested in the island's traditional culture, a smaller city beckons, said Scott Mowbray in The New York Times.

Set in jungled hills 250 miles east of Jakarta, Yogyakarta is close to Java's greatest ancient sites – Borobudur (the world's largest Buddhist temple), and Prambanan (a Hindu temple complex), both dating from the 9th century. But the city is now "a place of intellectual and cultural ferment", with several universities and a vibrant contemporary art scene. And nowhere are Java's "intricate" classical arts – including gamelan music, puppetry and dance – still so lovingly practised.

On arrival, Yogyakarta may seem much like any other hectic Indonesian city, with its "swarms" of scooters and countless warungs, or street food stalls. But you'll notice a "slower, more communal" rhythm in its kampongs, which are "villages within the city" – clusters of homes set amid quiet, winding streets decked with "songbirds in delicate cages, walls and doors of lovely hues, and countless potted plants". And in the heart of it all is the sultan's palace, the Kraton, with its many 18th-century buildings set in leafy grounds. Around the Kraton are other sites – a mosque, bath houses, gardens – all built according to a unique symbolic scheme – "a syncretic mix of animist, Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim beliefs that put Yogya at the centre of the universe". Known as the Cosmological Axis, this area was designated last year as a Unesco World Heritage site.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

During my time in the city, I went to museums, art galleries, "barista-style" coffee shops, a classical dance performance based on the Ramayana (an ancient Hindu epic), and a drag show in a batik emporium that was "a joyful blast of pure pop camp".

And I visited Prambanan and Borobudur, climbing to the top of the latter – a giant, stepped pyramid that is almost 400 feet wide and crowned with 72 hollow stupas, each sheltering a statue of the Buddha.